puerto rico monkey tour

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Printed on 04 May 2024 from PuertoRicoDayTrips.com

Get Close to an Island Run by Monkeys

12/23- Tours are up and running. .

You will see many neat things in Puerto Rico, but wild animals are not usually one of them – except if you go check out Monkey Island. Monkey Island (officially Cayo Santiago ) is a small island, about 1 nautical mile off of the eastern coast of Puerto Rico, that is home to about 1000 free-roaming Rhesus monkeys. The monkeys are the offspring of an original group of monkeys imported from India that were used for scientific research in 1938. Operated by the University of Puerto Rico’s (UPR) Caribbean Primate Research Center (CPRC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Harvard University, scientists there study the monkeys’ behavior, demographics, genetics and physiological changes. The island is not open to tourists, but you can get a view of the monkeys from the water.

I am a BIG fan of animals, so this was something I had to do! We went out one afternoon with Barefoot Travelers Rooms Adventures. They run a kayak tour over toward the island so you can view the monkeys.

We met Keishya and Bob at the launch point on the beach, directly across from Monkey Island. On our tour day, we had a bit of a storm passing, so as we waited until it was safe to go. Just so happened that three researchers from Monkey Island stopped to chat on their way home from their day of research. They told us about their jobs, the monkeys and all sorts of interesting first hand experiences and details about what goes on over on the island. Even if you don’t get to meet the researchers on your trip, Keishya is good friends with these researchers, so she can relay lots of what she has heard them say about the monkeys. The island was devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017, so it was rough for a while, but things are looking up for the monkeys!

It was about a 20-minute kayak trip over to the island. You need to remain a number of yards away from the island so as not to disturb the monkeys. It is cool- you can see the monkeys doing their usual monkey business . Their antics were fascinating to watch.

At no point can you step onto the island. There are rules in place- These are wild animals with diseases and they want to protect both the monkeys from you and you from the monkeys! I was happy to just sit in my kayak and watch these beautiful animals enjoy the afternoon. Since they are free to move around, you aren’t guaranteed to see them, but if you go at the right time or area of the islands, you have a much better chance. Keishya knows the best times/places and we saw about 50-100 monkeys during our 30 minutes of watching them. The wind must have been blowing the right way because we didn’t smell a thing.

When you’re done watching the monkeys you have to paddle your kayak back to the mainland. We did the afternoon trip and the views were beautiful, with the sun on El Yunque. Since we were delayed in starting, the sun was beginning to set and the clouds were colorful. I really enjoyed the trip. All in all, we were on the water about 2 hours.

Barefoot Travelers Rooms and Adventures has several kayaks (single and double) that they use for these trips. They can easily handle a group of up to 6 people. They also provide dry bags for cameras, and life vests (that you are required to wear). You should also plan to bring along one bottle of water for each person in your party … all the kayaking and the sun will make you thirsty.

Minimum group size is 2 people, maximum 6 people. Reservations required.

If you're happy, let them know it — Don't forget to tip your your bartender, tour guide or trip operator if you enjoyed yourself. Gratuities are appreciated and typically aren't included in the price they charge you.

Barefoot Travelers Rooms and Adventures doesn’t have any set schedule for this trip. They are available most days. Contact them in advance to set up your trip.

You can visit the Barefoot Travelers Rooms and Adventures web site for more information.

You can call Barefoot Travelers Rooms and Adventures at 787.850.0508 for more information or to make a reservation.

Remember to wear lots of sunscreen!

You should probably allow a good half-day for this trip. You may have to wait out a storm, like we did, or you may have to paddle to a different part of the island to find some monkeys to watch.

Click on a placename below to view the location on Google Maps ...

• Monkey Island
• Monkey Island, kayak launch point

PuertoRicoDayTrips.com assumes no responsibility regarding your safety when participating in the activities described in this article. Please use common sense! If your mother or that little voice in your head tells you that you are about to do something stupid … then don't do it! Read more about Safety →

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Kayaking Around Monkey Island, Puerto Rico

Cayo Santiago “Monkey Island” Humacao, Puerto Rico kayaking tour of the island and Rhesus monkey watching

On the East Coast of Humacao, Puerto Rico, close to Palmas del Mar , is an adorably named place of Monkey Island.  The island is easily visible from the shore of Punta Santiago.  Cayo Santiago, also known as Monkey Island, is shaped like a lower case r, and is a research colony/habitat to Rhesus Monkeys.

And you can kayak out to the island for up close viewing of the Monkeys!

To clear up some possible confusion, Mona Island (Isla de Mona) is located 41 miles (66 km) west of the main island of Puerto Rico, it literally means Monkey Island and is located in the deep, rough waters in the Mona Passage. Cayo Santiago is located 0.6 miles (1 km) off the east coast near Punta Santiago in Humacao, Puerto Rico. Cayo Santiago is known as “Monkey Island” due to an active Rhesus monkey colony and facilities devoted to research that can be easily viewed by kayak and small watercrafts from Punta Santiago.

A couple friends of mine booked a kayaking trip to Monkey Island and invited me along.  The low price and spending time with friends , plus the possibility of MONKEYS, made it an easy decision!

Everyone on our tour had previous experience on Sea Kayaks, so we had a quick refresher course plus a few tandem paddling tips, then into our kayaks.  Camera and personal items were double bagged in dry bags provided by Barefoot Travelers.

The water was a bit choppy, so we had a great workout paddling out the half mile to the island.  Only a few minutes into the journey, our tour guide Keishya was already pointing out movement in the trees, then monkey shadows as we approached the island.

We paddled the kayaks out to just short of the island, as only researchers are allowed on the island.  The sandy bottom is as shallow as 3 feet in certain areas.  There are a few spots around the island to drop anchor and walk around the clear, shallow water.  Boats are too big to get this close, so kayaks are the BEST way to see the island and the monkeys that live there!

As we quietly stood in the water near our kayaks, there was a parade of monkeys crossing the sand bridge and surrounding beach!  Mommy monkeys with newborn baby monkeys pressed together, young monkeys scampering about, pregnant monkeys, and even a couple rare blonde monkeys came out to watch us watch them!

Most of the monkeys are the size of large cats.

They roam around the island freely.  A few monkeys watched us, watching them.

Monkeys can easily be spotted in the trees, on the beach, and just hanging around.

Our knowledgeable guide told us the history of the island, monkey stories, and answered all of our monkey questions.

There is an old shipwreck near the island in shallow water (approx 10-12 feet deep).  Snorkel and mask were retrieved from another dry bag and within minutes we were swimming with a variety of fish around the shipwreck.  We saw many fish, including puffer fish, bright orange starfish and an octopus!  Our group swam around pointing out various fish and features of the ship wreck.

Our tour guide tailored our trip based on the activities of the monkeys and our preferences.  We had plenty of time to watch the monkeys.  We snorkeled all around the calm waters West of the island.  We even opted for an extra rest stop before the final paddling back to shore.

Drone Overview

Drone video of Cayo Santiago, also known as Monkey Island, in Humacao, Puerto Rico. Overhead view of the research facilities and a glimpse of the Rhesus Monkeys that live on the island as of December 2022. Starting from Punta Santiago beach flying over the water to Cayo Santiago and back to shore.

What to Wear

• Bonus points for UV protection shirt and/or leggings/pants for the fair skinned folks trying to avoid a sunburn!

Our trip was a snorkeling and kayaking tour around the island.  So I wore a protective water shirt and shorts over my bikini, and water shoes.

Next time, I will wear a fitted hat or visor to keep the sun off of my face, and perhaps long pants to prevent a weird tan line from the shorts.  Even though I wore a ton of sun block, there was quite the tan line around my sunglasses and shorts.  Also, for the snorkeling part, I (stupidly) took off my shirt without applying more sunblock and got a sunburn on my back.

I was especially impressed with the quality of the provided gear.  Quality masks and snorkel (with the fancy float mechanism that closes to prevent water from entering when submerged), plus water shoes (if you do not have your own), life jackets of course, good paddles, and nice two-person sea kayaks.  All of the equipment is well cared for.  I felt safe and comfortable both for the equipment and Barefoot Travelers as our guide.

Assume everything will get wet!  Even stuff in dry bags gets a little moist from the humidity and your hands, if you open the bag at any point in the trip.  Leave dry towel and nonessential items in the car.  I squeezed out my shirt and shorts and was dry within a few minutes of exiting the kayaks anyway.

Since my friends had originally booked the tour, I just showed up.  To my pleasant surprise, I had met the tour guide owner/operator Keishya at a local event a few weeks earlier (Puerto Rico is a small island).  And the end of our tour, we met her husband and partner, Bob.

Who we Booked with:   Barefoot Travelers ( FB page ) and website for booking a tour (reservations required for the twice daily tours).  I know why Trip Advisor have given them well-deserved Certificate of Excellence Awards.  Oh, and they have a guest house accommodations to rent.

  A photo posted by Jen Morrow (@jentheredonethat) on Jun 12, 2016 at 12:46pm PDT

Gratuity:  Monetary tips are common practice for tours.  There is no room for a tip jar on the kayaks, so don’t be shy to show your appreciation with cash in hand when returning your rental gear.

No special consideration was given to me other than being a paying guest.  I had previously met the owner, and while I received a fantastic workout, I highly suspect that Barefoot Travelers treat all of their guests this well!

Stay nearby in the charming beachfront village of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico and enjoy the Humacao Nature Reserve for more kayaking, hiking, and biking along the nature trails.

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71 thoughts on “Kayaking Around Monkey Island, Puerto Rico”

Wonderful places.

Wonderful article.

• Pingback: Monkey Island, Puerto Rico | Watch the Rhesus Monkeys from nearby Kayak - Puertorico Digital News
• Pingback: Monkey Island Puerto Rico | BEFORE and AFTER Hurricane Maria - Puertorico Digital News

Looks like you had a great time in Puerto Rico Island. I have recently been there. Snorkeling looks really amazing but I missed to do that. I must have read your post before. Thanks for sharing. Anyone who is visiting there, please don’t miss Snorkeling. I am regretting now.

Yes, Puerto Rico has some fantastic snorkeling! So many great snorkeling spots await you, when you come back!

This trip sounds awesome! You mentioned they were reasonably priced. Do you recall how much the trip was?

For a half day excursion, it was under $100. I think it was $80 per person, but I do not remember exactly. After Hurricane Maria the tour is modified and I do not know the updated pricing.

This is very wonderful piece of information. I have never been to Puerto Rico, but it looks like I must make plan now.

I am happy that you enjoyed this post! Be sure to check out some of my other posts on Puerto Rico for more inspiration and travel ideas.

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Snorkeling atop a shipwreck sounds like so much fun! That must’ve been a spectacular sight!

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Wow you are so lucky to have this beautiful place on your doorstep. I love kayaking. You get to see such interesting places that aren’t accessible on land. Monkey Island would be my dream trip. I think I would be a little nervous getting close to them in case they jumped on my kayak but they look so cute!

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I am so amazed! Puerto Rico has so much to offer in terms of activities. I love kayaking and paddling, but I really dislike interacting with monkeys. They were the worst in Jaipur.

I have heard about the out of control monkeys in tourist traps. I am so happy that the Monkeys on Cayo Santiago are in a natural habitat and well cared for. They are well behaved and interesting to watch. Again, there is no direct interaction of the monkeys while kayaking around the island.

I love sea kayaking and the monkeys are an added bonus. I am not sure my husband would agree though as the last time we kayaked last month in the Philippines, he only capsized his kayak and got stuck on some coral. I had to tow his kayak to the beach where the hotel staff emptied the water and then take it back to rescue him. I had a lot of laughs at his expense but for some reason he did not see the funny side!

HAHA, yes I see how that might not be funny for him. Fortunately, most of the water around Monkey Island is shallow, with many spots only 3-4 feet deep so a capsized kayak is no big deal.

I love monkeys and so would be really tempted to check this place out if I’m ever in Puerto Rico. Do you know any more about what the purpose of the research island is and what kind of research they are doing there? Have always wanted to try sea kayaking too so could possibly kill two bird with one stone. Snorkeling the ship wreck must have been fab as well.

The colony was established after removing the monkeys from medical research facilities. Now it is an observation habitat only. No experiments on these monkeys, just well fed and looked after.

That is good to know. So wonderful that they are now free from the medical research and can behave like normal monkeys on their little island. 🙂

Wow I think you have found yourself a little Gem. i have not heard of this before. I plan on doing Central America some time soon and I will def. check this our when it is closer to this day. Thank you for this review.

Glad to read this! Picking up South American countries that we are going to visit. But we only have six months. I hope it won’t be as expensive as I thought it would be.

Yayks! That was a comment for a different blog! What I wanted to say, seeing monkeys in their natural habitat makes me happy. Paddling, saltwater, and wild animals are perfect elements of an adventure! Enjoyed it! Thank you, Jen!

It is a delight to see monkeys in their natural homes! Paddling, saltwater, and cute animals are the perfect combination for a great adventure! Thank you for this, Jen! Enjoyed it!

This looks really fun! I love kayaking and certainly would be happy to see the monkeys from afar!

The whole experience seems to be a lot of fun. I would be really interested to getting close to the ship wreck. Sounds quite intriguing.

I love kayaking excursions and this one looks really fun. Were you able to go onto the island and explore? I’d love to snorkel around the shipwreck. Very cool!

Nope, no people (other than authorized researchers) are allowed on the island.

An island filled with monkeys, how interesting! Never heard of Monkey Island before. Did you feed the monkeys?

No feeding the monkeys, and you are not allowed on Monkey Island. Visitors can look from the water off of the island only.

Ohh this looks fun! I’ve always wanted to go to Puerto Rico and now I have another reason why I should! Kayaking is always one activity I enjoy and it’s cool that the company provided waterproof bags for your gear!

How cute are those monkeys! This sounds like such an awesome experience, and I definitely bookmarked it for future reference. The snorkeling also sounds like it was beautiful!

Those look like pretty calm waters but I would still be terrified of all the wild sea creatures that are out there. However, as you said, for MONKEYS, it would be worth it!

The wild sea creates in the waters around Monkey Island consist mostly of starfish and colorful fish. The waters around the shipwreck are so clear, you can see all around you.

OMG! The monkeys!! This is seriously my cuteness overload for today. Never been kayaking, but I’d definitely paddle my way there just to see these cuties 😀 hopefully they don’t throw stuff at me to stop the annoying screeching coming from me 😀

No, these Monkeys did not throw anything. Many were playing on the beach, or just hanging out in trees. And since people are not allowed on the island with the monkeys, there is really no danger at all.

What a fantastic experience! I would be afraid to go near the island, as I’m not really comfortable around monkeys, especially when they are so big. But from the water I wouldn’t have a problem. I love snorkeling too, I wish I can do it more often in my trips.

What a great post! Puerto Rico is on my bucket list and this article about Monkey Island was truly motivating to head there sooner than later. I also want to take up kayaking so I will refer back to your piece! Thank you for sharing!

Oh my this must have been so exciting. I would love to see them from a distance. The last time I was near the vicinity of a monkey, the little devil wasnt very kind to me. 😛

Puerto Rico is a magnificent country in terms of nature and wildlife, I am happily surprised to see how many different options one can get to do different activities on the island. Water sports are always fun and engaging, and it’s much better when you feel safe because you are given the right gear. Awesome experience.

What a fun tour! I have a kayak tour that might be coming up soon.

I have been told monkeys are always very curious, is it right? The experience should have been fantastic!

Some certainly were curious. Most barely glanced our way.

I didn’t know about this island when we visited Peurto Rico. Yet another reason to go back. I love seeing monkeys in the wild.

Kayaking, monkey spotting and snorkeling! What a fun day out you guys got to do and see a lot. I think it’s so special that the entire island is inhabited by monkeys. I also thought it was funny that they were watching you watch them.

I have never heard of this place. It looks intriguing, one more place to put on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing.

I had no idea there were monkeys in Puerto Rico, even less that there was a whole island full of them! That sounds like a great visit

Monkeys are not native to Puerto Rico, they were brought onto the island habitat after being removing from testing/research facilities.

The whole experience looks like so much fun and omg sooo many monkeys! But since the kayaking went all good I guess they werent the notorious kind. 🙂

I would love to see those monkeys! I’ve only ever seen wild monkeys in Brazil but not a whole island of them. Puerto Rico really is an amazing island. And great that your guide gave enough time to see them.

What fun. Would love to do kayaking and snorkeling here. Loved your pictures too.

Tons of monkeys!! I recently had my glasses stolen by a monkey in Indonesia! lol 🙁 My new ones will be in Monday though haha! I’m not sure I can look at them the same 😛 Looks like you had fun!

I always wanted to explore a shipwreck and this whole activity looks so much fun!!! Thanks for sharing the incredible experience 🙂

I love love seeing animals in the wild. I have been to a few monkey islands or spots before but never gone by kayaking. That would be a really awesome experience.

Monkey island and snorkeling sound like so much fun. The tips you gave are very handy. I wouldn’t have thought of wearing UV clothing or water shoes. And a good thing that they provided water proof bags for your phones and personal items 🙂

I’m thoroughly impressed! I tried sea kayaking once and my arms were BURNING and I know I didn’t go a half mile! I love that the #1 thing you recommend wearing is sunblock. Haha! Looks like you had a blast and I would love to see photos of the snorkeling! Cheers!

I was so excited to snorkel, I did not take any photos!!! I need to go back, just for more photos!

Never knew this type of kayaking existed! Got to visit Puerto Rico and try this out. Opened a new world for me!

Puerto Rico is such a beautiful Island. I never knew you could do this and this type of adventure is right up my alley. Next time I visit I will be sure to look it up. Thanks for sharing. Happy Roving!!!

They are soo cute! And seems like you have a great time. I hope there is someone who is keeping on eye for these cute monkeys, if there is – kudos for them!

Researchers visit the island regularly for monkey health check, census, and feeding. These cuties get plenty of attention!

This seems so much fun, especially since you get to do snorkeling. Also, those little monkeys are cute!

That sounds like such a fun kayaking experience! I have to be careful kayaking in choppy waters though, sometimes I get a bit motion sickness kayaking. I would love to check this out when we go to Puerto Rico!

Oh man! That’s a lot of monkeys! Hope they don’t jump on you while kayaking.

Some monkeys enjoyed watching us, but most of them just went about their day like we were not there. Since the island is a protected habitat, people (non-researchers) are not allowed on the island, and must keep a little distance from the monkeys anyway. We were never close enough to touch, or for the monkeys to jump out to us. Everyone (tourists and monkeys) are perfectly safe.

Now those are some alluring captures. Hope I will be able to trip there. Thanks for the booking tips.

Looks fantastic. A great way to explore an area.

This was a super helpful blog post! I’ve always wanted to go to Puerto Rico, and kayaking around there to watch wildlife seems incredible. Thanks for sharing!

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• Tours & Activities

Monkey Island Kayak EcoTour

• Local guide
• Use of equipment
• Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
• A maximum of 6 people per tour
• Not wheelchair accessible
• Not recommended for travelers with back problems
• No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
• Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
• This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
• This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers

Seeing the monkeys was so much fun. Our tour guide was informative and helped us get into the best position to watch the monkeys. We also snorkeled. Safety was taken into consideration and the guide also gave us some quick lessons on kayaking efficiently. I would definitely recommend this tour.

• Information & Tips

Barefoot Travelers Kayak Tour to Monkey Island

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Barefoot Travelers Kayak Tour to Monkey Island - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

Barefoot Travelers Kayak Tour to Monkey Island

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BAREFOOT TRAVELERS KAYAK TOUR TO MONKEY ISLAND (Humacao) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

Tales of Monkey Island

Monkey island, where playful primates run amok.

Photo: Geoff Gallice on Flickr

Atlas Obscura on Slate is a blog about the world's hidden wonders. Like us on Facebook , Tumblr , or follow us on Twitter @atlasobscura .

Monkey Island is real! Not the  Guybrush Threepwood, Mighty Pirate version, but a research facility overrun with primates. Half a mile off the eastern coast of Puerto Rico is Cayo Santiago, an island teeming with free-ranging Rhesus monkeys. Researchers from Harvard, Yale, and the University of Puerto Rico's Caribbean Primate Research Center visit the island to study the monkeys' behavior, development, communication, and physiology.

The simian population numbers around 800. All monkeys on the island are descendants of the 409 monkeys imported from India in 1938 to establish the facility. Cayo Santiago has no human inhabitants — researchers commute to and from the Puerto Rican city of Humacao each day. Visitors are not permitted, and with good reason: Rhesus monkeys may carry Herpes B, a virus that can be fatal to humans.

Kayak trips to Monkey Island leave from Punta Santiago. You'll be required to stay 30 feet from the island, which is still close enough to spot some monkeys running wild.

Visit Atlas Obscura for more on Monkey Island.

Photo: schizoform on Flickr

Photo: Geoff Gallice

Other islands ruled by animals:

• The swimming pigs of Big Major Cay might jump into your boat
• Snake Island is off-limits and full of venomous pit vipers
• Seal Island off the coast of Cape Town swarms with Cape Fur Seals

Puerto Rico

Exploring history, culture and natural wonders

Travel | May 17, 2022

The Puerto Rican Island Where 1,500 Monkeys Rule

The Caribbean Primate Research Center on Monkey Island is one of the world’s top institutions for studying primate behavior

Jennifer Nalewicki

Travel Correspondent

On the morning of September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, pummeling the island with 170 mile per hour wind gusts and flooding rain. It would be the first category 4 hurricane to strike the island in nearly 85 years, leaving many citizens without basic necessities like electricity, food, running water and shelter. However, in the storm’s aftermath, one community of residents emerged largely unscathed: some 1,500 rhesus macaques living a mile off the eastern shore of Puerto Rico on Cayo Santiago.

The island, known locally as Monkey Island, first became home to these unlikely inhabitants in the late 1930s, when primatologist Clarence Carpenter brought about 450 of the monkeys by ship from India to the 38-acre island to study their social and sexual behaviors. Through that initial pioneering research, the tree-studded enclave eventually became home to the Caribbean Primate Research Center , an educational and research facility that’s part of the University of Puerto Rico. Over the years, generations of monkeys have descended from that original colony, and today those descendants roam freely around the island, playing on its sandy beaches and exploring its endless canopy of trees. The rhesus macaques—each weighing about 20 pounds and known for their long, fluffy tails and straw-colored fur—live largely independent from human intervention (minus feedings).

After the hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico, researchers from the center feared the worst for the monkeys, unsure if they would even survive the storm. (Initial news reports were saying that the human death toll was hovering at 65 casualties.) However, once it was safe to return to the island, the scientists were surprised to find that the furry inhabitants had persevered.

“Two days after the storm, members of our staff took a boat to the island to feed them,” says Alyssa Arre , the center’s scientific director. “Everyone worried that the monkeys had died, but that wasn’t the case.”

Arre says it’s impossible to say for sure if any of the monkeys succumbed to the storm, however the workers tasked with taking daily census counts of the population didn’t find any irregularities.

While no cameras exist on the island to capture exactly how the macaques faired during the storm, Arre suspects that they sought shelter by climbing onto one of the island’s two hills and staying low to the ground. The only buildings on the island are used by staff for storage and research purposes.

“The hurricane destroyed all of the vegetation that the monkeys use to supplement their diets,” Arre says. “The wind was so strong [it knocked off twigs and branches], so we don’t think that they climbed into trees.”

The only daily human intervention that the monkeys receive are feedings, which came about as the result of the monkeys destroying much of the vegetation early on in their arrival to the island.

“Originally, [Carpenter and his team] thought the monkeys would just live on the island without any human intervention, but the monkeys quickly destroyed all of the vegetation on the island and ate everything,” Arre says. “So, they realized they would have to start sustaining the population with food provisions, and it’s been that way since the beginning.”

Currently, their diet includes coconuts, corn, seeds, apples, papaya and Purina Monkey Chow (yes, it’s a real thing!), which are yellow egg-shaped dry biscuits. Arre confirms that the monkeys are not fans of bananas despite what movies and media may depict.

“They like to take the monkey chow and put it in a puddle and roll it around [so it softens] before they eat it,” she says.

As a research institution that has been studying these mammals for decades, it only made sense to take a closer look into how trauma, in this case a natural disaster, affected their behavior and relationships. Researchers were surprised by their findings.

“After Hurricane Maria, the monkeys had more affiliative interactions in their social networks, and their social networks expanded, so they were interacting with more individuals” Arre says. “Researchers also studied how trauma, especially early-life adversity like a hurricane, can affect a monkey’s behavior and health.”

That research would eventually become part of a study published early last year in Current Biology , concluding that the macaques “became more social” and monkeys that were more isolated prior to the hurricane “increased social connections most after it.”

Another study found that females were reproducing less frequently after the hurricane.

Since its official establishment in 1970, the center has built a reputation as a pioneer in the field of primate research and has made many important contributions to our understanding of both primate and human behavior. The late William Windle, who oversaw the perinatal physiology lab at the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness (NINDB) in San Juan, worked closely with the island as it provided resources for behavioral and reproductive studies under naturalistic conditions. Windle studied the effects that asphyxia (oxygen deprivation) can have on a monkey’s brain during birth, and the permanent damage of the brain those effects can engender. His work not only changed delivery procedures in human infants, but he also went on to be awarded the Lasker Prize in 1968 for his work. More recently, researchers who have worked at the institute have been shedding light onto Covid-19 and its effects on monkeys.

A 1939 article published in Life magazine and photographed by German photojournalist Hansel Mieth also put Monkey Island on the map. One of Mieth’s images, known for being one of the most iconic animal photos in history, features a rhesus macaque sitting in the water soaking wet.

In a later interview, Mieth explained how she captured it, saying, “One afternoon all the doctors were away and a little kid came running to me and said, ‘A monkey’s in the water’… I don’t think [the monkey] liked me, but he sat on that coral reef, and I took about a dozen shots.”

Today, the island isn’t open to the general public, in order to prevent unnecessary human contact with the monkeys. Yet, each year, visiting researchers come to the island to study the monkeys and tap into the island’s expansive database that contains more than 60 years’ worth of data, from basic demographic information (age, social groupings and maternity rates) on more than 11,000 monkeys to genetic information and a collection of more than 3,300 monkey skeletons. Their studies continue to push the needle forward in our understanding of primate behavior and how it translates to our own behavior as humans.

"Rhesus macaques make a good model for humans, as we share many characteristics of our biology and similarly live highly social lives," Arre says. "Taken together, the projects with the rhesus macaques conducted at Caya Santiago help us better understand human sociality and health, and recently, how adversity and trauma might affect the life of an individual."

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Jennifer Nalewicki | | READ MORE

Jennifer Nalewicki is a Brooklyn-based journalist. Her articles have been published in The New York Times , Scientific American , Popular Mechanics , United Hemispheres and more. You can find more of her work at her website .

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Puerto Rico’s Monkey Island

• August 9, 2021 June 22, 2021

In 1938, with the support of Columbia University and the School of Tropical Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico, primatologist Clarence Carpenter populated the island of Cayo Santiago with 450 rhesus macaques from India. With its current population of 2,000 primates, Cayo Santiago is popularly known as Monkey Island.

Human visitors, other than the research scientists, are not allowed.

The research begun more than eight decades ago makes this one of the longest-running demographic studies in the world.

The University of Puerto Rico’s Caribbean Primate Research Center was established in 1970, further enhancing the research potential of a unique island.

The beginning

Scientists at the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the forerunner of the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, wanted to learn more about tropical diseases. Carpenter got the idea of populating Cayo Santiago with disease-free monkeys for a controlled study of tropical diseases over time.

The scientists observed and tracked the social behaviors of the population. In the beginning, they fed the animals, bringing fruit and vegetables to Cayo Santiago. Over time, the population grew and naturalized.

Scientists from around the world visit Cayo Santiago and use the data gathered there. Studies of primate physiology, genetics, behavior, and population dynamics have been influential in those fields. Research from Cayo Santiago has even changed the way human babies are delivered.

Today on Monkey Island

The Laboratory of Primate Morphology has 3,600 non-primate skeletons and is a rich resource for scientific study. Studies conducted at Monkey Island range from vaccination studies showing the beneficial effects of vaccination programs on populations to diseases of aging.  The Laboratory is home to an extensive genetic and life history database.

As the population rebuilds and resettles after the devastation of Hurricane Maria, researchers are learning about how primate populations respond to disasters. Researchers have seen how social networks changed, and how individuals altered their responses to one another.

At the same time, volunteers are helping to clear up debris and replant forests. The lack of food and shade created significant hardships for the population, but most of the monkeys survived. Research was limited during the time spent focusing on rebuilding. The monkeys also had fewer babies during that time; humans and monkeys alike were focusing their energies on rebuilding.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also limited field work and educational opportunities at Cayo Santiago, but the facility is beginning to reopen and looks forward to welcoming more researchers and students.

Tourists will not be allowed to visit, but they can see the inhabitants of the island by boat.

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